Guard for drinking glasses



Dec. 9, 1941. R. E. SMITH 2,265,403

GUARD FOR DRINKING GLASSES Filed Sept. 21, 1938 INVENTOR Randall E. 5712i).

BY ff.

' ATTORN EYS Patented Dec. 9, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUARIi FOB GLASSES Randall E. Smith, Jackson Heights, N. Y.

Application September 21, 1938. Serial No. 230,925

2 Claims.

which is so cheap that it can be thrown away after each use.

A further object is to provide a guard for drinking glasses which snaps on the glass and is thereby retained in operative position without the necessity of the user holding the same in place.

The drawing illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it is understood in adapting same to meet difierent conditions, various changes in the form, proportion and details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the nature of the invention as claimed herein.

In connection with drinking iced drinks such as Coca Cola and the like, it is objectionable to have the ice contact the drinkers upper lip and teeth. This causes an unpleasant sensation and also interferes with the flow of liquid into the mouth. The present invention eliminates this and other difficulties while at the same time it afl'ords a simple and cheap means of advertising, the guard being made of wax paper, cardboard or the like which costs so little that the guard can be thrown away and a separate guard used with each drink served.

This would be impossibl with any guard assembled from a multiplicity of parts, such, for example, as a guard comprising a disk having a series of hooks attached thereto adapted to engage the upper edge of the glass; or a guard made from metal and having a downwardly extending tab or handle; or a sheet metal disk adapted to fit into the open neck of the glass to be held therein by friction.

Many guards for dispensing drinks have heretofore been attempted, mainly for use in connection with cocktails or the like, for the purposeof straining the liquid as it is poured from a glass or Jigger into the drinking glass, and some "6: these guards have been used in the past to prevent floating material such as ice and fruit from coming in contact with the mouth, but the majorbe held in place and their construction was so expensive that they could not be thrown away after each drink.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a guard embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a view on the line 2-2, Figure 1, showing a glass in section and the guard in section thereon;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of another form of glass and guard;

Figure 4 is a plan view of a modified form of guard similar to that shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the guard, Figure 3, showing the formation of the rolled edge of the glass retaining portion of the guard, Figure 3, or

the guard shown in any of the other figures.

The glass or tumblers l0 and ll, Figures 2 and 3 respectively, are types of glasses in common use for dispensing Coca Cola and similar beverages. The glass ID has a beaded lip as shown at l2, while the upper edge I3 of the glass I l is rounded oil in the usual manner. It will be understood that these glasses are shown merely by way of illustration and that the new guard herein disclosed may be used with and shaped for use with a glass having any form of top, as such modifications as are necessary to change the guard to adapt it for use with a given glass are obvious.

The guard, generally denoted by the numeral I4, may be made of any suitable material such as paper, cardboard, thin sheet aluminum or any one of the numerous molded products, such as Bakelite, catalin or the like. The preferred form where extreme cheapness is desired, as is necessary when the guard is used as an advertising device, is a form of heavy paper or cardboard similar to that used for milk bottle caps and tops. Such cardboard is readily formed into shape and is treated with paraflin or the like to render it more or less moistureproof, and to stiffen it, For the purposes of thisdisclosure, it will be assumed that the guard is made from a heavy paper stock suitably treated to make it sufllciently waterproof for the purpose intended, andto give the clamping edge of the guard suflicient springiness or resiliency to hold the guard in position as hereinatter described.

The guard as just described is first blanked out and then formed in a suitable mold, the portion I5 of the guard being iormed as shown, to embrace a portion of the upper rim of the glass. The center portion I8 01' the guard is depressed so ity of such guards were so made that they must 5; that it will lie slightly below the top edge of the glass and extend completely across the same, except that a relatively narrow open space I! is provided through which liquid may pass.

In order to provide additional passages for the liquid on the side of the glass which is placed against the user's mouth, additional openings may be supplied. These may take the form of some trade mark or slogan, such as "Sipmaster" as indicated at I. or such as the openings indicated at is and 20, Figure 4; i

If desired, one or more holes, such as that indicated at 2! may be punched through the center portion it of the .guard to provide for the usual straw commonly used when drinking beverages.

'l'lgis hole is preferably located adjacent to the ed e I! of the guard so that liquid will notspill therethrough when the guard is tipped in the act of drinking.

The edge It is formed to extend over the edge of the glass as shown at 22 in the figures, iscontinued downward as shown at 23 and may berolled up as shown at 24 in order to provide a stiff and resilient edge. As shown in Figure 5, the construction is such that the rolled-up portion 24 is sprung inwardly and lies against the lower portion 25 of the outwardly extending edge I5. This forms a gripping portion for the guard and in order to facilitate the ready attachment of the guard to the glass, one end of this gripping portion is flared downwardly as shown at 26. In this flare portion, the rolled-up portion 24 is open or separated from 25 so that the upper edge of the glass easily fits therebetween and by inserting the edge of the glass in this open portion and then giving the guard a twisting motion, the guard may be instantly attached to the glass, which it will firmly grip by reason of the resilient action of the gripping portion of the guard. This eliminates the necessity of holding the guard in position in the glass when using it and yet the guard may be instantly detached and thrown away after use. a

If necessary, to give further strength and resiliency to the gripping portion of the guard, a wire or the like can be inserted at 26 in the rolledup portion 24, thereby forming additional resilient means adapted to hold the guard in place.

audios It will be obvious from the foregoing that the invention comprises a one piece guard or strainer constituting an article of manufacture adapted to fit into a glass and be retained thereon while in use. The device may be regarded as a guard if imperforate, the space I! permitting the liquid to flow out of the glass, and it may be regarded as a strainer when perforate, as shown at I! and 2., in Figure 4, for it is obvious that the guard could be made to fit into and completely close the glass, all of the liquid being withdrawn through the openings i0 and 20.

It is also obvious that the gripping edge II can be extended completely around the periphery of the guard, or that two such edges could be put at opposite points or at several pointsaround the periphery of the guard. As such modifications are obvious, they are not illustrated nor described in detail.

What is claimed is:

1. A guard for glasses comprising a one piece,

member formed of non-metallic material and adapted to lie in the open end of said glass below the rim thereof, an opening in said guard through which liquid may be discharged from said glass, and a second opening spaced apart from said first opening for admitting air to said glass when liquid is passing through said first opening, said member having an annular edge adapted toextend over the rim of said glass and downwardly on the outside thereof, said annular edge being stiflened by folding and rolling the material along said edge back on itself.

2. A non-metallic one piece guard for glasses comprising a member adapted to lie within the mouth of a glass below the upper edge thereof to partially close the same leaving an opening bely rolled formed edge adapted to engage and overlie the rim of the glass near the top thereof with said inwardly rolled edge on the outside thereof to supp.0rt the guard.

' RANDALL E. SMITH. 

